


look to the stars (tell me what you see)

by thislilalien



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe- Time Travel, F/M, Gen, The Author Regrets Everything, The Author Regrets Nothing, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix It, and all of that stuff, and ashfur is confused and not evil yet, brambleclaw wants to die, but anyway, includes canon typical violence and mild cursing, no beta we die like men, so does squirrelflight, squirrelpaw is more stubborn than she should be
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:07:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27992745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thislilalien/pseuds/thislilalien
Summary: Where Squirrelpaw and Brambleclaw find an injured cat, Squirrelflight is done with life, and Ashfur is just confused as to why the new cat hates him.Contains major spoilers for the Broken Code, including (especially) Darkness Within.Brambleclaw opened his jaws to draw in whatever scent had Squirrelpaw so worried, and then it hit him. The overwhelming smell of blood.“Oh, shit,” he whispered. “Some cat’s been badly hurt.”“Shit,” Squirrelpaw agreed, her eyes wide.
Relationships: Brambleclaw & Firestar (Warriors), Brambleclaw & Squirrelflight (Warriors), Brambleclaw/Squirrelflight (Warriors), Firestar/Sandstorm (Warriors)
Comments: 56
Kudos: 64





	1. of dreams and emergencies

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Simpler Times](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18509839) by [Haroldosaur](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haroldosaur/pseuds/Haroldosaur). 



* * *

( _“Wait! Don’t go!”_ )

( _Midnight_ , pg. 8)

So.

Shit.

Brambleclaw had just faced his father, had regular nightmares about him all the time, of his father slinking in a dark forest.

Would it really be too much to ask for a peaceful dream for once, a dream that didn't involve the imminent doom of the clans?

He seriously contemplated running away from the clans for a moment _(they can't get me if I'm not_ _here_ -) when his dream changed, and Brambleclaw was suddenly next to a pool of water that glittered coldly, reflecting the stars. It was silent. A bit _too_ silent.

There was a screech from behind him.

Whirling around and extending his claws, he saw a cat that looked like an older version of himself, with multiple scratches along his side, padding towards a cat that looked like a larger and scarier version of Squirrelpaw. As he watched, the two exchanged furious words, some that he didn’t catch, but words that he didn’t understand in the first place, words he didn’t want to understand, words he hoped he never would.

_(“He’s not coming back.”_

_“You killed him and stole his body! You lied to every cat and tore ThunderClan apart. I made my choice moons ago, and you’ve proven over and over again that it was the right one.”_

_“I’ll make you wish you’d never made that choice.”)_

His look-alike flung himself at Squirrelpaw, snarling, and Brambleclaw stared in horror as they grappled on the stone, his mind too full of questions to fully process what was going on. _Why would I attack my clanmate? Why is Starclan not interfering? Who is right?_ He looked away, hoping that he could change his dream through pure force of will, but nothing happened.

Another screech came from the battling cats, forcing him to look at Squirrelpaw, who had done well in the fight earlier, but she was now rolled over, and she let out another scream of pain. His look-alike was winning now, grasping her neck in his claws while she writhed on the ground, letting out a strangled yelp. 

_This is against the warrior code_ , he thought despairingly. _And I’m about to kill my clanmate, and nothing I do can help, because this is a dream._

He leaped at the two, hoping to at least help somehow, but he harmlessly fell through them. A yellow-furred tom caught his eye, and he desperately hoped that said cat could see him.

“Help Squirrelpaw!” Brambleclaw yowled as soon as he turned. _I don’t care if this makes her win against me. At least she won’t be dead. There’s no way I’d let myself kill her._

The other cat gave him a strange look, but sprang anyway… and then proceeded to fail in front of him — when said cat hurled himself at his look-alike, trying to drag him away, his older version spat something furious and sent a blow the yellow cat’s way, making him crash onto the rock. 

“No!” Brambleclaw cried, but his yells were left unheard as his older version padded towards this version of Squirrelpaw, her legs buckling, his future self grabbing her scruff in his jaws, dragging her into the lower part of the hollow, towards the pool.

_What is my future self doing?_

Brambleclaw ran after them, knowing for sure now that there was no way his look-alike was in any way the right one, watching helplessly as his future self waded into the pool and pushed Squirrelpaw’s future self in. His older self stopped for a moment, turning to grin at him, his eyes triumphant and full of malice, _turning blue_ , and then his look-alike disappeared into the pool as well. Letting out a yowl of shock and dismay, Brambleclaw tried to jump into the pool after them, but the dreamscape wavered, and his eyes opened to see Graystripe standing over him, a paw raised to prod him again.

“Brambleclaw, you crazy furball! You’ll scare off all the prey from here to Fourtrees!”

Sunlight streaked through the roof of the den, cheerful, as if nothing had ever happened.

Almost as if the world wanted him to forget the mystical, doom-and-gloom dream from last night, and also ignore the nightmare, thank you very much.

(Though how much of those dreams were the product of a tough piece of fresh-kill, was up to debate.)

Great.

Mumbling an apology, which was quickly shot down by Cloudtail, he exited the den, only to be playfully attacked by Sorrelpaw.

"It's today!" she told him, excitement clear in her voice and he immediately knew what she'd meant.

"Then you'll have to stop acting like a kit," he teased, cuffing her over the ear and standing up.

Sorrelpaw sputtered indignantly for a moment before telling him that Dustpelt and Ferncloud's kits were adorable, and he resolved to visit them later.

"You should go see them," Sorrelpaw urged. "Before you need to go hunting, Mr. 'Look at me I'm a warrior.'"

Brambleclaw grinned at her as she danced away, padding towards the nursery.

-

Things did go well for once.

Sort of.

Everything was fine, except for the fact that Dustpelt had tasked him with the impossible task of reining Squirrelpaw in, who he was currently arguing with about where to hunt.

"Sunningrocks?" Squirrelpaw gasped. "The horror! All the prey will be hiding! No way!" More seriously, she added, "You're a complete and utter mouse-brain if you think that there'll be anything there."

Brambleclaw was about to give a sharp retort, but remembering his dream, he immediately felt guilty and settled for a sigh. Rolling his eyes, he asked her, “Well, then. If you’re so clever, then where do you think we should hunt?”

“Up by Fourtrees, near the stream,” she responded immediately, her eyes gleaming. He suppressed a surge of annoyance as he realised that she was right. Hoping he wouldn’t lose face in front of the apprentice (who was he kidding, Squirrelpaw would definitely _find_ a way to make him lose face, whether he wanted it or not), he plastered an unimpressed expression onto his face, and gave her _the look_ ™.

“Fine,” he muttered, acting like he had relented and had, due to some miracle, decided to listen to her. 

Squirrelpaw gave him a winning smile and nudged him towards the camp’s entrance. “You think we need anyone else to hunt?”

He shrugged, but seeing that most other cats were already gone from the clearing, he responded, “I guess not.” Squirrelpaw gave him an exaggerated groan, but bounded away nevertheless, giving her mother a quick and affectionate head-butt as she passed.

 _She saw right through that, but decided to humor me for some reason,_ Brambleclaw realised, following more slowly, and tried to ignore a weird feeling that was fluttering around his chest, making him feel odd and generally not being very helpful.

_It’s not annoyance, that’s for sure._

_And a first._

-

_One more step..._

“Brambleclaw!”

The mouse streaked off, squeaking in terror, and he whirled around, furious. “What in the name of StarClan do you think you’re doing?” Brambleclaw demanded angrily. 

“I was hunting and I- I smelled and followed- I just-” Squirrelpaw panted, and he saw that she had obviously been running for a while. “No time to explain. You have to come look at this.” At his dubious expression, she added, “Please.”

He was about to object, but he knew that Squirrelpaw would probably never try to explain herself to him or be polite in any other situation but an emergency, so Brambleclaw turned and ran after her without another word as they made their way towards… Sunningrocks?

“Squirrelpaw, what the heck were you doing over here?”

The apprentice just shook her head irritably. “Scent the air,” she wheezed.

Brambleclaw opened his jaws to draw in whatever scent had Squirrelpaw so worried, and then it hit him. The overwhelming smell of blood.

“Oh, shit,” he whispered. “Some cat’s been badly hurt.”

“Shit,” Squirrelpaw agreed, her eyes wide.

_(“A time of trouble is coming to the forest.”)_


	2. of strangers and futures tbd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> where we meet our not-so-mysterious time traveller

Squirrelpaw found whoever it was first. She had poked around the rocks, frustration seeping through her at not being able to really find the cat (she would have tried scenting her way through the problem, but the reek of blood had basically covered everything), and she had seen a flash of ginger fur, similar to her own, hidden in a crack between the rocks. _Who is this?_

As she edged closer, she knew for sure she had found where the smell was coming from. “Brambleclaw! I found the source!"

Brambleclaw rushed over, and together, they dragged a she-cat out of the crevice, whose body was unmoving and unnaturally cold.

"Is she dead?" Squirrelpaw asked, almost despairingly, when they had finished.

Brambleclaw frowned, his gaze sad, nosing the she-cat over carefully. "She has a heartbeat," he mewed at last. "She's definitely alive. But if she doesn't get the proper care she needs soon, she'll die." Brambleclaw gestured vaguely to the claw wounds and awkwardly twisted leg of the cat.

As if on cue, the body started moving, and Brambleclaw jumped back with a yelp. Squirrelpaw stood her ground, though, hoping that her legs weren't trembling as much as she thought they were.

"Great," the she-cat rasped, lifting her head slightly to look at Squirrelpaw. "More drama." Then, her gaze fell on Brambleclaw, and suddenly, she looked furious. "You," she hissed. "Haven't you done enough damage to the clans already?"

Brambleclaw flinched and shrank back, looking as if he’d been struck, not denying anything, which confused Squirrelpaw a bit, but she stood up for him anyway.

"He isn't to blame for anything!" Squirrelpaw protested, glaring at the she-cat. "Heck, _you're_ the one _we_ found on _our_ territory. If anyone should be mad, it's us." As an afterthought, she added, “ _We_ were the ones who dragged _you_ out of the crack. You’re welcome for that, by the way.” Squirrelpaw watched as the cat’s expression changed from anger to extreme confusion. 

“Wait,” the other cat mewed suddenly, looking horrified, a silence stretching out between the three cats. “You don’t know about the imposter, or the lake, or the current situation regarding Shadowsight?” At Squirrelpaw’s and Brambleclaw’s blank expressions, she stared at them. “My name’s Squirrelflight. Are you sure that you have no clue who I am, or what those things I listed earlier were?” Squirrelflight paused, studying them carefully. “Yeah, you’re sure.” Another pause. “I think we got off on the wrong foot. Are you- Are you two Squirrelpaw and Brambleclaw?”

Squirrelpaw could only stare, dumbfounded.

“We are,” Brambleclaw mewed, coming to stand beside her. “Are you the future version of Squirrelpaw?”

Squirrelflight didn’t respond, standing up precariously. “One last _gift_ to me,” she spat finally, glaring at the sky, her voice filled with hatred and venom. “Is this your idea of a joke?” she yowled, her voice cracking at the end. There was no response from Starclan, and the cat turned back to Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw, clawing at the stone agitatedly. _What was that about?_

“Yes,” Squirrelflight meowed. “Can you- Can you take me to Firestar? If this is truly what I think it is, then you’re going to need all the help you can get within the next couple of moons.” She squinted at them for a second. “Brambleclaw, have you gotten the dream yet?” At Brambleclaw’s nod, she continued, ignoring Squirrelpaw's questioning look. “Has Sorreltail gotten her warrior name yet?” When neither Squirrelpaw or Brambleclaw answered, she mused, “This must be earlier than I thought it was. Isn’t this the day that you,” she said, addressing Brambleclaw, “wanted to go hunting at Sunningrocks, and I wanted to go hunting near the stream by Fourtrees?” 

Squirrelpaw nodded, taking in her future self’s shocked expression. “Why?”

Squirrelflight smiled thinly. “Last time, this didn’t happen. We just argued, Brambleclaw going to hunt with Brightheart and Cloudtail, and myself going to hunt with Sorreltail and Sandstorm. It seems that Starclan has already started changing things, and not necessarily for the better.”

-

“What is this?” Mousefur demanded to Brambleclaw scathingly as soon as they entered camp. “Why are you back now? Have you at least caught something?” Then, her gaze fell on Squirrelflight and her expression hardened. “That cat’s hurt, and needs to get to Cinderpelt. And Squirrelpaw,” she added, her glare now transferred to the apprentice. “Go get your father. He’ll want to know why you’ve brought an injured rogue back to camp.”

“I have a name,” Squirrelflight interjected hotly, bringing the scolding to a screeching halt. “ And I’m not a rogue. Even though this isn’t my camp, I’d like to see some decency. My name’s Squirrelflight, and maybe you would’ve noticed if you’d taken a moment longer to look at this supposed ‘rogue’ that my past self brought back. Also, hi, Mousefur. Nice to see you as a young cat.” 

Mousefur’s mouth fell open, opening and closing a few times, and Squirrelpaw took the opportunity to run to the Highrock, hoping that her father hadn’t heard the exchange. _I’d rather explain this mess than Mousefur. She’d get it all wrong!_

“Dad,” she called, poking her head into the den. 

“Hey, Squirrelpaw,” he answered, flicking his tail to invite her inside. “You didn’t get into any more trouble, did you?”

Squirrelpaw winced. _Right, so he doesn’t know yet._ “Yeah, um. About that…”

Firestar looked at her and let out a long-suffering sigh. “What shenanigans did you get yourself into?” 

“I swear, I wasn’t even involved,” she protested weakly. “Dad, I promise! Trouble just finds me! It’s so mysterious! But on a more serious note, um. I think you’d better come look. I think the situation kinda explains itself.”

Firestar shook himself, standing up. “I feel like I should mentally prepare myself for whatever you’ve gotten yourself into. Trouble always seems to _mysteriously_ find you, especially when you’re with Brambleclaw.”

“Dad!”

“Alright, alright. Come on,” he told her affectionately. He leaped briskly down the tumble of rocks, and Squirrelpaw followed more slowly. _I guess I’m gonna be doomed to a million moons of elder duty soon. I wonder how Firestar will react, though. I hope he won't be too mad, at least._

“Squirrelpaw! Are you coming or are you going to just stand there?"

Squirrelpaw bounded towards her father and steered him towards the entrance, where she noticed that Mousefur had gone… somewhere. She watched as Firestar saw Squirrelflight, frowning. “Is this… Squirrelpaw?”

Squirrelflight snorted. “You could say that, yes.” 

Firestar blinked at her, and Squirrelflight, seemingly guessing what he was about to say, hurriedly continued. “And before you go all ‘that’s not possible on me,’ I’m currently living through a time where Starclan is cut off from the clans and one of my close friends is possessed.” Her voice broke at the end, making Squirrelpaw think that this _friend_ was probably much more than one. “So don’t you dare quote anything at me,” she mewed, her voice calmer. “We can debate the mechanics of time travel later, father. All you need to know at the moment is that Squirrelpaw and Brambleclaw went hunting and found me. I’m not elaborating more until we’re in a private area.”

“You’re in no position to make demands,” Brambleclaw hissed at her, trying to get her to stop. Squirrelflight glared at him, but said nothing, waiting for Firestar to make his decision.

“We’ll get you to Cinderpelt first,” her father meowed at last. “I’ll have to discuss this matter with her, and Squirrelflight, you need your wounds treated. You’re badly injured.”

“Oh, I was?” Squirrelflight asked dryly, looking around mock wildly. Squirrelpaw hid her smile. “I would have never noticed.”

As the four of them padded to the medicine den, Squirrelflight talked animatedly about some things that happened in the future — something about her kits ( _my kits?_ ) who had gone off when they were only a few moons old to fight off a fox, and Squirrelpaw decided, almost unconsciously, that she liked her future, and all the things that came with it.

-

Squirrelflight officially hated her life. First, her mate became possessed by _Ashfur,_ of all the mangy crow-food eaters. Then, said asshole threw her into the Moonpool and kidnapped her. And now, this? Being yeeted into the past? Where said asshole was and had no idea what he became in the future?

_Screw. Him._

_And StarClan, too, for being the only ones capable of pushing me into a time when we’re still in the goddamn forest and Ashfur is still alive._

Shaking herself roughly, and pointedly not meeting anyone’s concerned gaze as she suddenly went silent ( _ow, that hurt, what the heck, when did I become an elder?_ ), she pushed through the fern tunnel, ignoring the wave of nostalgia that hit her ( _great StarClan, I have never felt this old literally ever_ ), and pushing away the homesickness that washed over her at that particular thought.

( _"Wow! Our kit having kits! That's awesome."_

_"Great StarClan, that makes me feel old!"_

_"Don't be mouse-brained."_ )

_It won’t matter anyway. If this is truly what I think it is, I’m never going back to my time ever again._

She forced her shoulder fur to lie flat at the idea and took a deep breath as she followed Firestar inside the den, where Cinderpelt was teaching her sister how to sort juniper berries. 

“Firestar,” the medicine cat greeted, looking up momentarily. “What can I do for you?”

Her father ( _no, not my father, at least, not the one that has moons more experience, and the one that is currently dead, and we can’t get in touch with_ ) wordlessly swept his tail towards Squirrelflight, and she tried for a smile, although she was reasonably sure it looked more like a grimace, given the fact that she probably had a sprained ankle or broken leg or something along those lines (hey, she’s not a medicine cat — that’s her sister’s job. _Well, it_ _was_ ).

Cinderpelt took one look at her and immediately forced her into a nest, without any pleasantries, fancy words, or too many shocked expressions, shooing away everyone else so that she could treat Squirrelflight. It was mostly silent in the den, save for Cinderpelt’s humming as she applied poultices onto Squirrelflight’s many wounds. Leafpool ( _wait, no, Leafpaw_ ) would occasionally ask for help with something, and Cinderpelt would answer in hushed tones, glancing over at Squirrelflight.

They didn’t trust her.

She didn’t trust herself, either. Not really.

After what felt like moons of imprisonment while her cuts marinated in fire, she was declared free. Which was all fine and dandy, except that she was all but kicked out, and was told by her sister that Firestar had stopped by sometime earlier (after she had been interrogated-ish, naturally) and told them that he had decided for her to stay, and would officially announce her presence to the clan when all the patrols had returned.

Which also meant, unfortunately, that she had a whole half-day to kill and _Ashfur himself_ had apparently taken it upon himself to “show the new cat around,” and if she squinted, she could somewhat see him rounding the bend, coming towards her.

No, Squirrelflight did not feel like hurling herself or Ashfur off a particularly high tree branch.

Not at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I should have made this longer but.  
> oh well.
> 
> :)


	3. of surprise announcements and unprecedented hostility

“Are you _sure_ that you know your way around?”

Squirrelflight glowered at Ashfur, who was trying to convince her to allow him to give her a walk-around of the camp, or some shit. “What do you not understand about ‘ _I used to live here?’_ Heck, my younger self is _currently_ living here. Why would I need a tour?” 

She exhaled, trying to shake off some of her irritation, but it was quickly coming back. Pair that with the fact that she was probably being unfair and that Ashfur was probably just as irritated at her as she was with him, she lashed her tail a few times, anger making her vision blur. “Look, I appreciate the sentiment and all but just. Stop. Aren’t you needed for a patrol or something? Go away and bother someone else.”

Ashfur shrugged, and Squirrelflight resisted the urge to rake her claws across his muzzle a few times. _I could probably beat him easily if I wanted to. This is the cat that tore the clans apart that we’re talking about. But then again, if I did start a fight, that would raise too many questions about this cat who is currently still somewhat a good cat, and Firestar would probably reevaluate his decision to let me stay._

“I…” he paused for a moment, seemingly reconsidering his life choices. “I have today off,” he told her finally.

“Then spend your precious time off doing something productive. Like sleeping, where you can’t bother anyone,” she snapped. Ashfur glanced down, and Squirrelflight followed his gaze, only to realise that her claws were unsheathed. With a massive effort, she sheathed them again, and glared at the ground.

“You’re mad,” he observed, apparently surprised by her outburst.

“No shit,” she snorted. “Nice observation.”

“No,” he mewed. “As in like, you hate me in the sort of way that could only happen in the future, because I’m reasonably sure that I haven’t offended you recently.” He paused. "Not that I paricularly think that you're telling the truth about the whole time traveller thing."

_Ah, there it is._

_I'm definitely killing either mini-me or mini-Bramblestar for telling this asshole that I'm here._

“You got that right,” she muttered, not caring about his hurt expression. "Now fuck off."

Ashfur glared at her. “In case you didn’t realise, I’m staying by my idea to show you around. So stop being difficult and just follow me around.”

“And that’s where your demise comes into play,” Squirrelflight responded, glaring right back. “Your stubbornness isn’t endearing or whatever you want to make it out to be. It's literally the death of you. But okay. Fine. Take me on your stupid tour. But if you end up dead before the end of it, don’t say I didn’t warn you." 

Ashfur shrugged. “If you do carry it out, just know that you’ll be kicked out of ThunderClan.”

Squirrelflight shook herself irritably. “I already agreed to your damn tour. It’s not my funeral.”

So there she was, some time later, wasting time and walking around a camp that she already knew too well, as a part of Ashfur’s “tour.”

_Great Starclan, kill me now._

“And this is the nursery,” Ashfur announced with a flourish.

“Where Ferncloud and Duspelt’s kits, Larchkit, Hollykit, and Birchkit, were just born,” Squirrelflight noted, fighting down a wave of grief at the realisation that two of the kits would be dead within a few moons’ time. _Not to mention that Hollykit shares a name with Hollyleaf._ At Ashfur’s surprised look, she gestured using her tail to her general time-traveller-ness. “Now do you believe me?”

The only response she got was a snort.

And then Ashfur stepped inside of the nursery, leaving her with no choice but to follow. _Is this a trap? If Dustpelt is in there with Ferncloud, would he attack a random cat who happened to look like his apprentice that he felt was threatening his kits?_

After a moment of consideration, she decided, _The odds are definitely not in my favour._

_But then again, when are they ever?_

Squirrelflight sighed and padded after Ashfur into the den. Like she’d expected, Dustpelt was in there, along with Ferncloud, both of them looking alert and ready to attack, with Ashfur frantically explaining who she was (who the heck explains the presence of someone else with “ _ah yes, this is the cat who showed up earlier today and may or may not be lying about time travelling?_ ” No wonder Dustpelt looked so on edge.).

“I’m sorry, Ashfur’s done a terrible job of explaining why I’m here,” she interjected dryly. “In short, I’m Squirrelflight, Squirrelpaw’s future self and stuff, not exactly sent here by Starclan, but also sort of, too.” She paused for a moment. “Firestar knows that I’m here, and will explain me and all that later,” she added helpfully.

Ferncloud eyed her, then leaned over to whisper something to Dustpelt, who nodded slightly.

“I feel like I’m about to be accepted into a cult of some sort,” Squirrelflight noted.

Goldenflower let out a laugh. “If the way you’re talking and the way you act is any indication, you’ve already been accepted into the queens’ cult a while back.”

“You’re not wrong. I had my paws full for the longest time with two litters,” Squirrelflight smiled.

Ferncloud inclined her head towards Squirrelflight. “I totally feel you. This is my second litter as well, and they are a tough bunch, but I’d assume that you already knew that, given the fact that you say that you've time travelled.

Dustpelt cleared his throat loudly, amusement clear in his eyes. “I’m sure you didn’t come here to talk about the hardships of being a queen.” Her former mentor’s gaze suddenly grew cold. “Why are you here?”

“Oh, I can answer that easily,” Squirrelflight mewed in a deceptively casual tone. _No, I’m not thinking about how he died and how everyone else in this nursery did, no, not at all._ “Ashfur took me here on a tour of this camp, which I apparently did not live in whatsoever, according to him. And naturally, he took me in here, probably hoping that you went all protective-new-dad-mode and ripped me to shreds. Thanks for not doing that, by the way.”

Dustpelt shrugged. “It’s not every day that you see a cat who looks like your apprentice march into the den, that _just so happens_ to get along well with both queens here.”

“I mean,” she deadpanned.

“Definitely Squirrelpaw,” Goldenflower laughed. “She’s got the same sarcasm and that one note of stubbornness that’ll drive you crazy.”

Ashfur gave Goldenflower a sideways glance. “You believe her?”

Goldenflower purred. “When you’re older, you’ll start to observe things about cats that you haven’t before, like habits.” She pointed a claw at Squirrelflight. “This one walks, talks, and acts just like our dear old Squirrelpaw.”

Squirrelflight huffed dramatically. “I’d like to think that I’ve matured at least a little.”

She took note of how everyone in the den seemed to accept what Goldenflower had said — even Ashfur and Dustpelt, who were both prickly and very set in their ideas, and not afraid to voice them.

Speaking of Ashfur, he was lingering by the entrance, and shot Squirrelflight a look that she couldn’t quite decipher. One that Goldenflower did recognise, however, based on the sympathetic look that Squirrelflight received.

The queen flicked her tail as a dismissal of Ashfur, and said cat backed out of the den.

“Rejected or future mate?” Goldenflower asked as soon as Ashfur left.

“Member of the Broken Heart Club,” Squirrelflight replied immediately, her face twisting in disgust. “Didn’t know how to take a hint, some obvious me-not-liking him-because-I-like-another-cat conversations, or a rejection very well.”

Ferncloud hummed thoughtfully. “As his sister, I can testify that what you’ve very bluntly stated is at least somewhat true. Not saying that I'd agree with all of that, but I could imagine that happening.”

Squirrelflight frowned. “I completely forgot that you’re his sister.” It was true. She could hardly believe that soft-spoken Ferncloud could even be slightly related to hot-headed, murderous, and all-around evil Ashfur.

_But then again, he isn’t too evil yet._

_Yet._

“I might be a little biased though,” she added quickly. _Actually, I definitely am. By a lot._

“Just a little,” Ferncloud smiled.

Goldenflower coughed. “I think we’re missing something.” There was mischief in her eyes as she turned to Squirrelflight. “You said that you rejected Ashfur for another cat, and that you had two litters.”

Dustpelt cracked a grin as he understood.

“ _Who_ did you have your kits with? _Who_ is this mysterious mate that you’ve got here?”

“Well,” Squirrelflight mewed, feeling herself flush, stalling for time. _I’m not telling them who my mate is, that’s for sure._ An idea struck her. “Let’s make it a game. Whoever can guess my mate correctly gets bragging rights.”

“Give us clues, at least,” Ferncloud sighed, leaning over to tuck Hollykit back into the curve of her stomach. 

“He’s a part of ThunderClan,” Squirrelflight listed immediately, trying to think of things to tell her that would make it harder to guess that her mate was Bramblestar. _Brambleclaw is…_ “He’s a warrior at the moment, he’s ambitious, though fiercely loyal to Thunderclan.” She paused. “And he’s somewhat handsome if you squint and look at him a certain way.”

“Challenge accepted.”

-

“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highrock for a clan meeting!”

Firestar’s yowl rang out around the clearing slightly before evening.

 _It was expected, but only for a few,_ Brambleclaw mused. He knew that Squirrelflight had spent most of the day in the medicine den, and then mostly in the nursery afterwards, which had mostly kept her presence a secret from most of the clan, if you didn’t count how Ashfur was rumoured to have given Squirrelflight a walk-around of camp, and how he claimed that she was exceedingly rude to him, or how Mousefur was gossiping about the new cat who he and Squirrelpaw brought back to camp.

Brambleclaw didn’t need to be clan leader to know that Squirrelflight probably had a good reason to dislike Ashfur. _Although, when we first met, she also seemed to hate me, and now acts like she somewhat likes me._ He wondered briefly if Squirrelflight had mistaken him for his father, Tigerstar, but then quickly pushed the thought aside when he remembered his dream. _If future-me was attacking her, then she’d have a good reason to hate future-me, and then, by default, me, but she doesn’t seem to hate me anymore. Unless she thinks that I can be changed somehow, but that doesn’t seem likely._

His brain hurt.

The rest of the clan had mostly arrived in the time it had taken for him to think about Squirrelflight, murmuring nervously about how Firestar wasn’t on the Highrock, and about the new cat, who was a little too close to all the queens and too friendly with them for the clan’s liking, and Brambleclaw hadn’t noticed that Squirrelpaw was sitting next to him. He stared at her, and when she noticed the look he was giving her, the apprentice rolled her eyes.

“Relax, mouse-brain. I just thought that since we found Squirrelflight, we might as well be in this together.”

Brambleclaw swept his tail around to touch her shoulder. “Temporary truce?”

Squirrelpaw grinned. “You bet.”

He glanced around the camp, wondering where Squirrelflight was, and to his surprise, she was actually with the queens, talking about something or another. _At least she’s fitting in._

“We have a guest,” Firestar began after a moment. “Whom I’m sure you may have noticed, and,” his mouth twitched slightly, “her name is Squirrelflight, Squirrelpaw’s future self.”

There was an immediate uproar as cats started protesting how time travel would even be possible, and Firestar had to wave his tail a few times for silence. 

“I have decided, after speaking to Cinderpelt and Leafpaw, that her claim is, indeed possible, and that she is telling the truth,” he mewed, an air of finality in his voice.

“I’ve literally never felt this much like an apprentice being scolded for lying,” Squirrelflight muttered into the silence.

The statement alone broke the tension, with several cats smiling and laughing, and the rest of the evening proceeded without any more incidents. Sorrelpaw was given her warrior name, Sorreltail, and when the clan crowded around her to congratulate the new warrior, Squirrelflight was there, too, looking as if she belonged, even though her gaze was shadowed with something like grief.

A little after the warrior ceremony, when most of the clan had dispersed, Firestar padded towards him, and sat down next to Brambleclaw.

“You did well today, finding Squirrelflight,” his leader mewed unexpectedly.

“Thank you,” Brambleclaw responded. 

There was some conversation between them, and Firestar ended with, “I’m glad you’ve both found a clan where you can be loyal.” 

A warm feeling spread through Brambleclaw, but even then, he wondered, _Would a truly loyal cat have told him about my dream, though?_

_Does this great danger have something to do with Squirrelflight?_

_-_

Squirrelflight flopped into one of the many nests in the medicine den. According to Cinderpelt, she was not recovered enough to go back to the warrior’s den, which meant at least a few more days with Cinderpelt and Leafpaw.

Which also meant that Squirrelflight wouldn’t be able to sleep, either. Even back in the lake camp, she was always used to sleeping in close quarters with the warriors, which meant that when she was in Bramblestar’s den on the Highledge, she had a hard time sleeping (and also due to the fact that she was sleeping in a den filled with the scent of Bramblestar, which also meant the imposter, and Ashfur). The medicine den was no different. Even with Cinderpelt and Leafpaw nearby, Squirrelflight had never felt so alone before, stuck in a time where her sister, her mate, and her parents had no idea what happened in the future, and how they all died.

Her mind was too full of grief-filled thoughts to sleep, anyway.

( _"Sorreltail is dead."_

_“But... but she was fine. She didn't say anything about being hurt. Didn't anyone notice she’d been injured?”_

_“I told you all to check yourselves for injuries. Have you done it yet? I won't have any other cats die on me!"_ )

_I won’t have her die on me this time._

It was a surprise when she woke up in a cave with the faint sounds of water nearby. _The sun-drown-place!_

Sure enough, Squirrelflight could see Midnight’s striped face peering at her through the shadows.

“Good to see again cat friend from journey,” Midnight rumbled, and Squirrelflight bounded forward to touch noses with her.

“It’s good to see you again, too,” she responded, and froze as she picked up another scent.

It was a bald cat, with bulging eyes and an appearance Squirrelflight had only heard from Jayfeather’s stories. _Rock._

“We need to get to business,” he merely grunted when she looked at him. “Midnight says that knowledge is not always power.” He fixed her with an intense gaze. “But in your case, you hold enough power to destroy the clans altogether.”

“So in my case, knowledge is power,” Squirrelflight mewed.

Midnight tilted her head. “Sort of. Depends on how you use your knowledge. Will you use it to help the other clans, or only Thunderclan?”

“Of course I want to help the other clans!”

“Then you can’t just sit there and do nothing,” Rock muttered. “Find a way to inform the other leaders.”

“The gathering is in a few sunrises,” Squirrelflight meowed firmly. “I’ll contact them then.”

“Will be too many cats and too much information to share,” Midnight warned. “Firestar’s information might be overshadowed by WindClan and RiverClan’s. He might introduce you, but likely nothing more.”

“Then we can contact the leaders on that night and set a time for a meeting to discuss what is to come,” Squirrelflight murmured as her dream faded.

_But what will get them to come?_

_It's like there was a reason I came here. There has to be a piece of home that I took with me, something that would help all the clans._

_An emergency gathering._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays, ya'll!  
> At the moment, I don't really have many ideas for "fluffy moments and such"  
> So if you have any ideas that i could somehow incorporate into this fic, let me know!


	4. of patrols and frustration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> where squirrelpaw is the definition of the "squirrelpaw no" "squirrelpaw yes" meme and squirrelflight tries to be friendly to ashfur

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> where was i for the past two and a half months?  
> uhhh
> 
> in short, i joined a new discord server (yk, that one run by IzzyMRDB), spent a day trying to explain to my friend what a pog was, started a new WIP (in a different fandom, oops), spent too long talking with my friends about radish cults, and school was a bitch
> 
> whoops

Just as Squirrelpaw exited the apprentice’s den, yawning slightly, about to ask whether or not she’d be able to do anything fun that day, Brackenfur, who was padding across the clearing, caught her eye and gave her an apologetic smile.

“Dustpelt’s busy with his kits,” he told her, shrugging, seemingly reading her expression. “Though I think Cinderpelt asked for you?”

Squirrelpaw let out a groan. “Are you kidding? Dustpelt’s _still_ mooning over Ferncloud and the kits? It’s been forever!”

Brackenfur gave her a look, which she took to mean, “yes, but I need you to shut up whilst I go do my stuff and you do yours.”

Grumpily, she dipped her head slightly towards Brackenfur in a clear gesture of “okay, fine, but I won’t enjoy it,” making her way slowly towards the medicine den, greeting Cinderpelt.

“You asked for me?” she tried.

Cinderpelt gave a start at her voice, then relaxed. “Oh, it’s you, Squirrelpaw. I heard Leafpaw saying that you might want to be occupied while Dustpelt is busy with Ferncloud.”

“I was just planning to sleep in all day,” she shrugged. “Or go hunting on my own. Or talk to the other apprentices. But no, yeah, absolutely nothing else for me to do.”

Cinderpelt let out a sigh. “You still need to do apprentice duties,” she reminded sternly. “Just because your mentor is doing something else doesn’t mean that you can go do whatever.” 

Squirrelpaw shifted uncomfortably ( _where’s Squirrelflight?_ ) and instead asked a safer question. “Can I see Leafpaw?”

The medicine cat eyed her. “She’s in the back, sorting herbs. Don’t mess her up if you need to talk to her. Besides, since your mentor is busy at the moment, you might as well help out over here.”

Squirrelpaw inwardly groaned — by “help out over here,” Cinderpelt most likely meant “go on tick duty” — but nodded.

She was slightly surprised to see that Squirrelflight was helping sort leaves.

“What are you doing?” she asked curiously.

“Sorting,” Squirrelflight deadpanned, plucking another ( _juniper?_ ) berry and plopping it onto a different pile.

“I mean, yes, I knew that,” Squirrelpaw said, frowning slightly. “Why, though?”

Something in Squirrelflight’s expression changed, becoming more guarded. “Apparently, I’m trusted enough to do this.”

“Firestar welcomed you and believed your sob story,” Squirrelpaw pointed out.

“Anyway, I have nothing else to do, because _someone_ decided that even with a splint, I’m not able to do literally _anything_ else,” Squirrelflight mewed pointedly.

“It’s your own fault,” Leafpaw shrugged. “You showed up with an injured leg.”

“It wasn’t my fault,” Squirrelflight muttered, fluffing her fur out against some nonexistent chill.

“Either way.” Leafpaw stopped for a moment, looking up. “You wanted to see me?”

“I wanted to talk to both of you,” Squirrelpaw mewed simply. “I wasn’t able to, yesterday.”

“Ashfur was being a dickhead,” Squirrelflight responded. “Then, I went to look at the nursery, where I’m surprised no one attacked me, and talked to the queens a bit, and I got a little _sidetracked._ ”

“I was busy,” Leafpaw mewed.

“Ashfur was being a what?” Squirrelpaw repeated, ignoring her sister for a moment. “He isn’t that bad, you know. He’s a good friend."

“He is ‘that bad,’” Squirrelflight said firmly. “‘Good friend,’” she muttered. “ _Sure_.”

Indignation bubbled up inside of Squirrelpaw, and she bit back a protest on Ashfur’s behalf, resolving to talk to him later.

“ _Sure_ ,” she echoed, trying to convey “you’re wrong” and as much sarcasm as she could possible through one word.

“Sorry to interrupt your _very important_ talk about Ashfur and his dick-headed-ness,” Leafpaw interrupted, not sounding sorry in the slightest, “but I heard that you were supposed to not be distracting me while I do this.”

“I wanted to talk to you,” Squirrelpaw mewed, disappointed.

“Talk to Squirrelflight,” Leafpaw told her apologetically. “ _She’s_

“I and Squirrelpaw can leave here and go out towards the front to talk, since I believe a talk is needed,” Squirrelflight offered. “We’re almost done here, anyway.”

Leafpaw turned back to the berries with a small sigh, and Squirrelpaw caught a tinge of sadness from her sister.

She breathed in deeply and tried not to feel too affected by Leafpaw’s feelings. _You are training to be a warrior. Leafpaw is training to be a medicine cat. You are set to be on a different path. You can’t share everything anymore,_ she told herself.

It didn’t make her feel much better, knowing that her sister could probably feel her excitement.

She wriggled her way to the front, past Leafpaw and her herbs, where Squirrelflight was waiting.

Squirrelflight shot her a sympathetic glance, and Squirrelpaw turned away, scowling.

Thoughts ran through her head, but all she could think was _I don’t need your sympathy_. Didn’t Squirrelflight know that, if she was truly Squirrelpaw’s future self?

Or did the future change her in such a way that would shape her like this?

Squirrelpaw had a sinking feeling in her stomach that told her exactly what she needed to know.

As if reading her thoughts, Squirrelflight gave her a wry look. “I figured you didn’t need it, but why not?”

The last words were very unmistakably _hers_ , and she was reminded of all the times she’d gotten in trouble.

( _— but why not? There’s no reason not to…_ )

“What happens?” she blurted out.

Squirrelflight huffed out a short laugh. “I can’t answer that. Some things you can’t know. Just know that it’s not good.”

“I would have _never_ guessed,” Squirrelpaw muttered, bitterness welling up inside of her ( _I’m not a kit-_ ), shoving past her to talk to Cinderpelt.

( _Never meet your role models, they always disappoint you._ )

If no one was going to help her figure out whatever was in store, up ahead, all the warriors being their stuck up little selves, deciding that she wasn’t to be involved in anything, then fine. 

She’d just have to figure it out herself.

As predicted, she was assigned to tick duty, even if she didn’t do anything wrong.

The universe must really hate her.

-

It was four sunrises before the next major incident (that Squirrelflight could recall from her limited memory of what had happened at the time), and she silently thanked StarClan that Cinderpelt had (somewhat) given her the all-clear to start pulling her weight in the clan.

She had started feeling antsy and more than a little useless.

(And if she wanted to prove Ashfur wrong, that she _did_ do useful things in the clan, then that was no cat’s business but her own.)

Squirrelflight awoke in the medicine den to hear Thornclaw gathering cats for the dawn patrol, realised what day it was, and almost jumped out of her fur in her haste to leave.

“I’m joining whether you want me to, or not,” she told Thornclaw firmly as soon as she saw him, remembering the last time she had spoken to him.

_The day he left Thunderclan with Greystripe._

_(What kind of a leader was I that I let cats leave Thunderclan without a second thought, I let them leave to go die-)_

Squirrelflight swallowed back everything she would have said to him, had he been the Thornclaw that she knew, instead glancing around the camp as Thornclaw gathered Brambleclaw and Ashfur to complete the patrol, spotting Squirrelpaw, who was busying herself trying to look like she was trying to push a stray branch out of her way and pretending to not look at the patrol every few moments.

_How the heck did I get away with sneaking out of camp last time?_

She wouldn’t stop Squirrelpaw. Squirrelpaw definitely deserved a lesson in listening to the warriors, but Squirrelflight _could_ warn everyone so that they didn’t freak out when she left.

( _Something important happens on this patrol, I just can’t remember what-_ )

Raising her tail in a “wait for me” gesture, she made her way towards the nursery, ignoring Ashfur’s frustrated growl, picking her way through the brambles, knowing that Firestar was likely busy with something else. 

Dustpelt looked up as she entered the den. “Look who’s here,” he mewed, voice warm.

Squirrelflight gave him a small smile, making sure to keep her voice low as she spoke, so as to not wake up any of the kits. “Good to see you too,” she grinned. “I just thought you’d like to know that Squirrelpaw’s planning to sneak out of camp.”

Dustpelt groaned softly. “Not this again.”

“At least mini-me is going on patrol,” she shrugged. “There are worse things to do.”

“I _was_ going to take her to the Sandy Hollow to train,” Dustpelt grumbled. “That’s better than going on patrol, for her.”

“I doubt you’d be able to stop me, no wait, her, from going on patrol, either way,” Squirrelflight pointed out.

“Thanks for warning me, at least,” Dustpelt sighed. “Have fun on that patrol, I heard you finally signed up for one that coincidentally happened to have a mini-Squirrelpaw tagging along.”

Squirrelflight smiled and ducked out of the den.

“Finally,” Ashfur grouched, pacing impatiently. “What took you so long?”

Squirrelflight had half a mind to snap back at him, but remembered her conversation with Squirrelpaw ( _“Ashfur’s a good friend!_ ”), and remembered that she’d fallen for the grey warrior for a reason.

( _He’s not that different from Bramblestar, with our constant friendly bickering_.)

 _This isn’t the same Ashfur that all the clans know. These aren’t the same cats that_ I _know._

Then, as a second thought, _Maybe I can save all of them. Even Ashfur, if he doesn’t get too close to Squirrelpaw._

So instead, she gritted her teeth, and told him, “Squirrelpaw.”

Ashfur rolled his eyes, though his voice was slightly fond. “Of course.”

“Are we going to pretend like yesterday never happened?” she asked him once they left camp.

Ashfur shrugged, looking uncomfortable. “ _You_ were the one who was openly hostile to me.”

“ _You_ were the one who decided to take me on that tour,” Squirrelflight objected. “What’s your point?”

“Once upon a time, you would have agreed to the tour. You’re not the Squirrelpaw that we all know. You’ve changed.”

“I have,” Squirrelflight responded, and left it at that.

_You have, too._

“We’re checking Snakerocks,” Thornclaw called. “Watch out for adders and _hurry up_.”

In front of her, Brambleclaw unsheathed his claws and dug them into the earth at the mention of adders.

Squirrelflight didn’t visibly react, but was reminded of Mapleshade and how she killed a Thunderclan warrior using an adder. She sped up a notch, ignoring the burst of pain that exploded from her leg.

_Leafpaw and Cinderpelt are definitely going to murder me._

“Did you hear that?” Brambleclaw asked some time later, narrowing his eyes at a clump of ferns behind them.

“Definitely not a piece of prey,” Ashfur observed. “Too loud.”

Brambleclaw opened his jaws, then let out a sigh, glancing sideways at Squirrelflight. “Come out, Squirrelpaw.”

“What- oh.” Thornclaw padded over, eyeing the apprentice. “Why are you here?” More urgently, he asked, “Did Firestar send you?”

“She wouldn’t be skulking in the bracken if he did,” Brambleclaw pointed out.

Squirrelpaw didn’t meet his eyes. “I mean, well, not really. But I just thought- I haven’t been on a patrol in _ages_.”

“Does Dustpelt know that you’re here?” Thornclaw meowed.

“No,” Squirrelpaw admitted. “He promised me we’d do some training, but all he ever does nowadays is spend all day mooning over his kits.”

“Not anymore,” Ashfur meowed.

“You should go back to camp,” Thornclaw decided after a moment.

Anger flared in Squirrelpaw’s eyes, and Squirrelflight vaguely recalled the anger that she’d felt in the moment.

“Squirrelflight, you’d understand,” Squirrelpaw mewed, turning to her. “You’re me, you’d understand, right?”

“There’s a difference between being you and letting you tag along, and letting an apprentice leave camp without notice,” Squirrelflight objected.

“Did this happen last time?” Brambleclaw asked her. “I mean, your presence can’t have affected Squirrelpaw and her tendencies to sneak away from camp, right?”

“It did happen last time,” Squirrelflight confirmed. “It’s one of those things you just can’t change.”

“I doubt this will help the clan trust you more,” Ashfur noted. “You not warning them, I mean. The clan will be in an uproar just searching for her.”

“Who said I didn’t warn them?” Squirrelflight mewed. “Plus, either way, I doubt this’ll help with your trusting me.”

Ashfur shrugged.

“What happened last time?” Thornclaw asked.

“I tagged along, got back to camp, Sandstorm and Dustpelt were furious, I was assigned to tick duty.” Squirrelflight frowned. “I’m actually surprised I remember this at all, it was seasons ago.”

“StarClan does everything for a reason,” Thornclaw sighed. “If this happened last time, and nothing too bad happened afterwards, then I guess Squirrelpaw can come, too.”

“A little too many cats for a patrol, though,” Squirrelflight mused.

“That’s fine,” Thornclaw mewed. “The sooner we get this done, the better.”

“Thank you!” Squirrelpaw trilled, bouncing a little in place. “Where are we going? Oooh, will there be trouble? What are we looking for?”

“Don’t make us regret it,” Brambleclaw warned.

Squirrelpaw snorted, and Squirrelflight wondered briefly how she and Brambleclaw had fallen for each other in the first place.

“We’re going to Snakerocks,” she interjected.

“Watch out for adders,” Brambleclaw added, a little too gleefully.

“I knew that,” Squirrelpaw snapped.

“And stay quiet,” Squirrelflight added. “No noise unless we spot something that needs to be addressed.”

_Great StarClan, was I always this annoying?_

Squirrelpaw frowned and opened her mouth to reply, then clearly thought better of it, and closed her mouth. Squirrelflight saw Thornclaw and Ashfur share an eye-roll.

To be fair, Squirrelpaw wasn’t behaving too badly while they walked along.

Until they reached Snakerocks.

Brambleclaw shuddered at some thought, and Squirrelpaw immediately pounced on the opportunity to make fun of him.

“Scared of adders?” she taunted.

“Yes,” Brambleclaw responded. “And so should you be.”

“They’re probably more scared of us,” Squirrelpaw shrugged, bounding forward to sniff at a hole.

“Stop,” Squirrelflight snapped. “Scent the air first. Don’t poke your nose into whatever you see.”

“You could have told me nicely,” Squirrelpaw grumbled.

“I have a bad feeling about this place,” Squirrelflight mewed, narrowing her eyes, trying to grasp at a far-off memory. It was like trying to catch butterflies. She opened her jaws and her eyes widened, the memory rushing back to her full force. “Up the trees. Go. Now.”

“Why?” Squirrelpaw complained, oblivious. “All I smell is mouse, and some stale dog.”

“And badger,” Brambleclaw growled.

“Are they bad?” Squirrelpaw asked curiously.

“Duh,” Ashfur mewed. “Though I don’t think the badger’s home,” he added, with a glance at Squirrelflight.

“Go hide, either way,” she ordered, and sprinted for the cover of the trees. Thornclaw fell into step beside her and Ashfur dove towards the undergrowth.

Squirrelpaw didn’t move, though, staring in the direction of loud footsteps that seemed to be coming closer, Brambleclaw pushing her towards the trees. A striped face appeared in front of them, and Brambleclaw cursed, Thornclaw starting to run forward, and Squirrelpaw was pushed towards the trees, all of them covered up just as the badger fully emerged into the clearing. 

Brambleclaw hissed something at Squirrelpaw — what they were talking about, Squirrelflight had no clue, but she managed to calm the pounding of her heart as the badger squeezed itself through a hole, and then it was gone.

“That was too close,” Ashfur mewed, popping his head out from a tangle of briars. “Do you think it was the same one that killed Willowpelt?”

“Probably,” Brambleclaw offered, turning towards Squirrelpaw. “Why didn’t you run when you were told to?”

“I wanted to see it,” Squirrelpaw meowed. “Dustpelt told me-”

“To always get more experience where you can,” Squirrelflight finished tiredly. “But not when it comes at the expense of getting your fur ripped off.”

“What about the badger?” Squirrelpaw asked. “Can’t we do something about it? There are four of us, and one badger. How hard can it be?”

Squirrelflight winced, and Thornclaw closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. 

“Squirrelpaw, you never go into a badger’s den. Or a fox’s, for that matter. They’ll attack, there isn’t enough room to maneuver, and you can’t see what you’re doing,” he meowed.

“But-”

“ _No._ ”

“Still,” Squirrelpaw grumbled as they made their way back to camp. “I could have lured it out, and then-”

“We’d still have to go back to camp to report it, minus one annoying apprentice who got her fur ripped off,” Brambleclaw mewed discouragingly. “What do you think we would have said? ‘Sorry, Firestar, but we accidentally let a badger get your daughter’? He would have our fur off.”

“Probably worse,” Squirrelflight commented.

Squirrelpaw swatted at her. “Why must you always team up with Brambleclaw?”

“Because, as much as it pains me to admit it, he’s the warrior here, and usually right,” Squirrelflight pointed out.

“Fine, I get it, you’re boring, and the future sucks,” Squirrelpaw mewed, swinging her tail up defiantly and plunging into the undergrowth.

“Great StarClan,” Brambleclaw muttered, and Squirrelflight gave him an apologetic look before following.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am in desperate need of fluffy moments, so if you have any ideas, let me know!  
> (and also, if you have any concrit, also let me know! i'm trying to improve my writing, and any feedback is greatly appreciated!)

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to write one of these for forever, and just never really did it (because I always got too lazy, oops).
> 
> But here I am, with too many ideas, not enough time, and dead inside (joy.)
> 
> As I said first chapter, I was inspired by Haroldosaur's Simpler Times which is nice ig
> 
> I have no socials lmao but.  
> You can find me on Discord @ TᕼIᔕᒪIᒪᗩᒪIEᑎ#8347 and start a conversation, add me as a friend, whatever, honestly anytime (because I waste approx. 50% of my life there lol)
> 
> What are your thoughts so far?


End file.
